The present invention generally relates to methods and devices for securely storing data within a protected environment. Specific embodiments of the invention include recording time-stamped activity data, storing temperature data within the protected environs of a concrete mass, and secure calculation and storage of data relating to the properties of a concrete mass and, more specifically, mechanical strength data of the concrete throughout its curing process.
Today, there are secure “boxes” that are manufactured and sold to the government for data communication across telephone lines. Drawbacks of the secure boxes are that they are large and not secure in the particular environment that they are used in. In other words, the boxes may be capable of creating, sending, and receiving data that is secure, but the box itself may not be secure.
The personal computer industry offers software and personal computers that create, send, and receive secure data. The software operates in conjunction with a generic computer. Again, the data that are sent or received are secure, but the computers are not secure.
Two options are available for making the data and the hardware secure. The first is to make the hardware small enough to be carried from place to place, so that one can personally guard against its loss or unauthorized use. However, this alternative is impractical if the data need to be available and accessible to various other parties, and the data remain susceptible to loss or misplacement. As such, a second alternative is hereby disclosed, wherein the hardware and, subsequently, the data, are secure protected within an immovable mass. The present invention provides a method and device for securing the hardware and, subsequently, securing the data stored therein, from loss due to theft, misplacement, tampering, and the like, yet keeping the data readily accessible to any authorized personnel who may have need to access the data.
Concerning the construction industry, data of all sorts are vital to construction projects of all kinds. As the information age and the construction industry collide, the availability of construction-related data for future planning and analysis is paramount. Furthermore, the validity of the data is, in many instances, as important as or at times even more important than the data themselves. The preferred embodiment of present invention relates to the protection of crucial data for use within various industries, such as the construction industry, financial industries, medical industries, and any other industries needed open access to securely-protected data, as well as the secure transference of the data to their intended recipients.
Home-Building Example
By way of example, home builders have a need for keeping track of which sub-contractors are working at each of their construction sites and/or keeping track of which of their own workers are at work, where they are working, and what work activities they are performing throughout the construction of the house (thus functioning as an inexpensive on-site time-clock for workers, subcontractors, etc.). To track and manage this data, home builders need a system to receive, store and, when needed, transfer the data to its intended recipient—all with the utmost of integrity and validity (i.e. without potential for tampering or loss of data along the way). One embodiment of the present invention provides the functionality required to meet this need.
Concrete Construction Example
Another embodiment of the present invention relates to the protected calculation and storage of concrete maturity and concrete strength data. In the construction field today, concrete is one of the most widely used construction materials. One method for determining the mechanical strength of a mass of concrete is the “maturity method.” In the maturity method, one maintains a record of the internal temperature history of the concrete mass as it cures. Curing is the strengthening of the concrete through the process of hydration that occurs over a number of days. When concrete stays moist, the moisture allows the chemical reaction between the cementitious materials and water to continue. From the curing temperature history, one can determine the mechanical strength from previously-determined empirical equations. For these equations to be valid, one needs to determine coefficients for these equations that correspond to a given concrete mix design. For a different mix of concrete, the coefficients have to be recalculated. In this sense, the equations are “calibrated” according to the specific mix of concrete to be analyzed.
The term concrete is generally used in the construction industry to refer to a mixture of Portland cement or other cementitious or pozzolanic materials, coarse aggregate such as gravel, fine aggregate such as sand, water and various chemical admixtures which, upon hydration of the cementitious and pozzolanic materials, becomes a hardened mass. As used herein, the term concrete refers to concrete as it is commonly defined in the construction industry and to formed cement, which is cement and water that hardens into a solid mass upon hydration.
The term concrete mass is defined herein to be a mass or body which is made from concrete, mortar, cement, or the like. This definition is in contrast to the term concrete form which, when used herein, refers to the structures into which concrete is poured to produce a concrete shape that holds its shape upon hardening.
One embodiment of the present invention provides a means for calculating and storing the maturity and/or strength data within a protected environ and, subsequently, to transfer the data to its intended recipient without risk of loss or alteration of the data at any point (it should be noted that in the provisional application identified by U.S. Ser. No. 60/351,393, it is mistakenly stated that the prior art loggers store maturity data. To Applicant's knowledge no one prior to Applicant has stored maturity data in a logger.). Although there are existing devices and methods for non-destructive testing of concrete masses using the maturity method, further improvements are sought to shorten construction schedules, promote safety and to thereby save money. It is to such improvements in the devices and methods used in the maturity method that the present invention is directed.